The Colonies
There are three main colonies of cats on the Island, the Raspberries, the Blackberries, and the Cloudberries. The Raspberries and the Cloudberries are colonies that have existed since humans left the island. The Blackberries are a colony that was formed a couple years ago, taking up the unused territory of the forest.
The colonies are groups of cats who take care of eachother and share a territory and home. One of the main aspects of the colonies is that they believe in the Beast. Cats outside of colonies and would not like to join them are known as strays. Cats who are not part of colonies, but are willing to help out and are generally associated with them are known as wanderers.
The colonies territories are loose, cats from different colonies are allowed to go into other colonies territory if they'd like. Cats are allowed to switch colonies if they wish. The colonies have a trading system set up, where they trade herbs, prey, trinkets, etc. The colonies are very friendly with eachother and help eachother out a lot.
The colonies do not have many set ranks within them and they work similarily to communes. The closest thing they have to a rank is the role of an apothecary, a cat who takes care of others who are sick. It is customary to have 2-3 apothecaries, at least one focusing on mental health and one on physical health. Cats also have roles of midnight, twilight, or dawn shifts. These simply designate when a cat is usually out being productive, it is comparable to a work shift.
Cats from each of the colonies wear a certain trinket to show they are part of it. Cats of the Raspberries wear a raspberry branch on their left ear. Cats of the Cloudberries wear a cloudberry and leaf on their right ear. Cats of the Blackberries wear a blackberry branch on their right ear.
Cats within the colonies choose their own names. Most cats will choose theirs during adolescense. Until a cat has chosen a name, they are referred to by a simple descriptor (I.E 'black-fur green-eyes') or, they may be referred to by relation to family (I.E 'Turtle's son'). Once a cat has chosen their name, it is considered terribly disrespectful and taboo to refer to them as anything but that. Unnaming another is one of the worst insults that can be given. Nicknames or pet-names do not exist within the colonies' culture.
Allegiances
The Raspberries
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